1848 Great Qing Charcoal Burners

Chapter 203 Tradition
Luo Dagang led his troops to outflank and plunder Li Xingyuan's Qing army, taking the mountain paths east of Quanzhou City. Peng Gang gave Luo Dagang five days.

The main force of the Left Army was in Quanzhou City, and the battalion and company commanders, personally trained by Peng Gang, were already very familiar with the matter of requisitioning money and grain.

Peng Gang no longer needs to do everything personally as he did when he first occupied Wuxuan.

During this free time, Peng Gang found a painter from Quanzhou to paint a portrait of Confucius wearing a long robe and mandarin jacket, with a rat-tail hairstyle and a melon-shaped hat, replacing the original portrait of Confucius in the central hall of the Quanzhou Confucian Temple.

The statues and portraits of Confucius enshrined in Confucian temples during the Qing Dynasty were mainly in the style of the imperial robe and crown, and the statue of Confucius enshrined in the Quanzhou Confucian Temple was the mainstream imperial robe and crown style.

The image of Confucius in the imperial robes typically depicts him wearing a twelve-tassel crown, a robe with twelve symbols, and holding a jade tablet, signifying his lofty status as the supreme sage and teacher of all ages.

Some of the statues depict the Minister of Justice (Confucius once served as the Minister of Justice in the State of Lu) or the Minister of Justice in the State of Lu.

In the style of paintings by Wu Daozi of the Tang Dynasty, Confucius is depicted standing, with his hands clasped or holding a scroll, leading his disciples on a journey through various states or preaching and teaching. These images of Confucius are examples of his teaching.

Images of people performing rituals are often found in stele forests, murals, or as illustrations, and are not usually used as the main sacrificial images in the main hall of Confucian temples.

Peng Gang, Qiu Zhongliang, and Huang Bingxian changed into a straight robe with pipa sleeves, put on Confucian caps, and went to tidy up and repair the Quanzhou Confucian Temple.

After doing all this, Peng Gang ordered his men to bring the Quanzhou students and children from the prisoner-of-war camp, along with Jiang Zhongxin, to the Confucian Temple. Today, he wanted to debate with these Quanzhou scholars who had been misled by Cao Xiepei about what the true orthodox tradition was.

After pounding rice for two days, these students and children from the whole prefecture became much more obedient.

His emotions were no longer as agitated as they had been when he was first captured.

When Peng Gang had someone lead them to the Confucian Temple, Peng Gang himself, accompanied by two senior officers of the Left Army, was dressed in a handsome and proper scholar's robe, the kind they had only seen in portraits before. The thirty-odd students and children from the whole prefecture were quite surprised, wondering what this short-haired pseudo-Northern King was up to.

"Since you've arrived at the Confucian Temple, why don't you bow to the portrait of the sage?" Peng Gang questioned.

They were all scholars; there was nothing wrong with them entering the Confucian temple to pay homage to the sage.

Jiang Zhongxin and more than thirty students and children were about to bow down to Confucius when they glanced at the portrait of Confucius and immediately froze in place.

Time seemed to freeze.

All the students and those in the preparatory stage focused their attention on that absurd and jarring portrait: a rat's tail! A long robe and mandarin jacket! A melon-shaped hat!

This stands in stark contrast to the image of Confucius in his robes and crown that they had studied and worshipped since childhood.

These are not saints at all; they are clearly themselves, the ugly figures they have dressed up under the oppressive rule of the Qing Dynasty for generations!
"what--!"

Several short, uncontrollable gasps burst from the crowd.

The older students and students turned deathly pale instantly, their bodies swayed, and they nearly fainted.

The young students and students stared wide-eyed, their lips trembling, in disbelief.

Kneel? Kneel before a Confucius with a pigtail?

This thought itself was like a red-hot branding iron, searing into the depths of their souls.

This is not only blasphemy against saints, but also forces them to deny their entire cultural identity and moral order upon which they depend for survival!
“This is an insult to scholarship! An insult to scholarship!” Jiang Chengxun, a student from Quanzhou, roared hysterically.

"How dare you! This is the attire of your Great Qing! You dare say that the attire of the Great Qing is an insult to civilization? What are your intentions towards the Great Qing? Do you also think that the attire of the Great Qing is barbarian clothing, crude and ugly, unfit for refined occasions?" Peng Gang mocked Jiang Chengxun.

“What you wear, what you wear on your head, and the braid you have at the back of your head are exactly the same as the portrait of the saint in front of you.”

"I didn't," Jiang Chengxun said stubbornly, his face flushed red as he turned his head away.

Aesthetic appreciation is universal among normal people.

Despite their stubbornness, Jiang Chengxun, Jiang Zhongxin, and others had to admit that Peng Gang's pipa-sleeved robe and scholar's cap were much more attractive and pleasing to the eye than the long robes and mandarin jackets they wore.

“I’m a man of reason. You’re rejecting my Left Army in the name of defending the Way. If you can convince me with the Way you defend, I will not only let you worship the statue of the Holy Emperor, but I will also immediately restore your freedom and let you go home. If you don’t agree with me, you can go back to pounding rice and chopping wood for me.” Peng Gang stood with his hands behind his back, looking down at Jiang Chengxun, Jiang Zhongxin and the others who were half a head shorter than him.

"Really?" Jiang Zhongxin's eyes lit up.

“A gentleman’s word is as good as his bond, and that includes you, Jiang Zhongxin,” Peng Gang said with a slight nod.

“Peng Ni, you are also a scholar. You have gathered a crowd to incite rebellion, destroyed my sacred temple, burned my books, and usurped the title of sage. You are truly sinners against Confucianism! The teachings of Confucius and Mencius are the foundation of China and the unchanging principles for all ages.”

You are using a cult to mislead the masses, claiming that all men in the world are brothers and all women are sisters.

In reality, they are fatherless and rulerless, and have destroyed morality! Those who uphold the Way should be like us, upholding righteousness and guarding our hearts, protecting our ancestral home and shrine, ensuring that our sacred learning does not fall into ruin, and protecting our homeland from being defiled by your foreign heretical teachings! " Jiang Chengxun was the first to launch an attack.

"These are all things Cao Xiepei told you, right? Don't you have anything to say of your own?" Peng Gang sneered, refuting each point.

“You are in the Confucian Temple now. Your father has been bringing you food and drink to the prisoner-of-war camp these days. Answer me in front of so many sages: Have I destroyed the Confucian Temple and ancestral halls, or burned books and poems?”
On a tree, there are two kinds of flowers. People with the same surname were one family five hundred years ago. People with different surnames were one family five thousand years ago. All Chinese brothers and sisters are one family, so what's wrong with that?
Defend the Way! Which Way are you defending? Is it the Way of the rich feasting while the poor freeze to death on the streets? Is it the Way of corrupt officials running rampant while the common people sell their children? Or is it the Way of countless starving people with no way to survive? Or is it the Way of serving barbarian chieftains as rulers and willingly becoming their slaves?

As Mencius said: "The people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important! If the kitchen is full of fat meat, the stable is full of fat horses, but the people look hungry and there are starving corpses in the fields, this is like leading beasts to devour people!"

This glorious sacred teaching, which you uphold, has it ever held even the slightest place in your heart? The Qing court was so corrupt, treating the people like dirt and slaves; it was already the tyrant, the one who deserved to be executed, as Mencius had described.

Moreover, the Aisin Gioro clan were slave chieftains of barbarians from beyond the Great Wall, and their ancestors were merely slaves of the Ming general Li Chengliang's family! To call them tyrants would be an understatement.

For two hundred years, the slave chieftain has usurped the sacred artifacts of China. We have risen up in rebellion precisely to exterminate this remnant chieftain, restore order, and revitalize the traditional culture and customs of China!

The path you defend is nothing more than preserving the power and position of the Aisin Gioro family. How can you face Confucius and Mencius, the sages of the past, and your ancestors, when you defend such a distorted doctrine?

Jiang Chengxun was speechless. He calmed down and looked around.

The Confucian Temple is indeed in good condition; even the memorial tablets that were damaged by lead pellets and iron filings have been replaced with new ones.

Regarding the matter of the Jiang family ancestral hall, Jiang Chengxun also asked his father, who delivered food to him. The short-haired cult bandits had indeed not destroyed their family's ancestral hall, as for burning books.

The short-haired cult bandits didn't even confiscate the books, so how can there be any talk of burning books?

Could it be true, as Peng Ni said, that Cao Xiepei was slandering the religious bandits, sacrificing the lives of thousands of people in the entire city for the sake of Cao Xiepei's empty reputation?

"Peng, you traitor! Stop misinterpreting the Emperor's words! The great duty between ruler and subject is a matter of course. Although the court has accumulated problems, it should be corrected gradually by virtuous scholars who correct the Emperor's faults. How can you, the inferiors, be allowed to rebel against your superiors and replace violence with violence?"

What you are doing is worshipping Western barbarian evil gods. This is forgetting your ancestors, using barbarians to change Chinese culture, and cutting yourself off from Chinese civilization! What kind of tradition do you have to talk about?

"The orthodox tradition lies in culture, in rites and music, and in the principles of heaven and human relations elucidated by Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi! Your actions have corrupted our Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues, making you sinners against the orthodox tradition of China!" Seeing that Jiang Chengxun could not argue with Peng Gang, Jiang Zhongxin stepped forward to support Jiang Chengxun.

"Wait for the Qing court to gradually change things? Jiang Zhongxin, you've supposedly studied the classics, but ask those starving corpses how long they can wait for their stomachs to empty."
You say I worship Western barbaric evil gods? You've been in the prisoner-of-war camp for half a year. Which eye of yours saw me, or my men from the Left Army, worship Western evil gods?
Furthermore, there are many Buddhists among the common people. According to your logic, the Buddha that Cao Xiepei worshipped at Xiangshan Temple in the past was also an evil Indian Buddha.

Peng Gang calmly and sarcastically retorted.

"How much of the spirit of investigating things, extending knowledge, and seeking truth remains in the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism that you admire today? How much of the benevolence towards all people and things remains?"
What are the principles of heaven and human ethics? The common people seek to survive and have enough to eat and wear; this is the principle of heaven and human ethics!
Mencius said: "There is a way to gain the world: gain the people, and you will gain the world." The Qing Dynasty has lost the hearts of the people. We, in accordance with Heaven and the people, are relieving the people from their suffering, and are thus inheriting the legitimate tradition of the revolutions of Tang and Wu!

If we're talking about using barbarians to transform Chinese society, Aisin Gioro Nu, the chieftain of the Manchu Qing dynasty, was the first to do so.

What is the true Chinese tradition? The true Chinese tradition lies in its continuous vitality, in its benevolence towards the people and love for all things! It lies in whether it can ensure that the people of China live in peace, have enough to eat and wear, and allow Chinese civilization to progress!
The path you uphold is a dead end, a path of isolation, complacency, and self-isolation from the world's nations. Within ten years, the path you uphold, and the Manchu slaves and false rulers you protect, will be trampled underfoot by foreigners and forced to live a life of ignominy.

The path I seek is the path to cleanse China of two hundred years of deep-seated ills, the path to the rebirth of Chinese civilization!
Jiang Zhongxin, you studied under Liu Kunyi, who in turn studied under his cousin Liu Changyou. Liu Changyou studied at Yuelu Academy, learning practical knowledge for governing the world. Have you completely forgotten all the real skills your teacher taught you? Do you only remember basic ethics and moral principles?

Jiang Zhongxin has been in a prisoner-of-war camp for more than half a year since he was captured in the Battle of Bogong'ao.

Looking back on the past six months as prisoners of war, it's clear that very few people in Zuo Jun worshipped the so-called Heavenly Father and Heavenly Brother.

People rarely mention God the Father and God the Brother. Am I really wrong?
Or perhaps the short-haired bandits, as the Qing army passed down the story, didn't actually believe in any religion at all.

"You're sharp-tongued, I can't argue with you right now." Jiang Zhongxin snorted coldly, acting like a child.

"So, you think you can out-argue me in the future?" Peng Gang shook his head and smiled as he spoke.

"Hard to say," Jiang Zhongxin said defiantly.

"Truth becomes clearer through debate. Whenever you feel you can out-argue me, report to Chen Nanshan at the prisoner-of-war administration office and have him bring you to see me."

Looking at Jiang Zhongxin, Peng Gang suddenly remembered that Jiang Zhongyuan was in Shuitang Bay and would soon reunite with his old enemy Chu Yong on the battlefield. He could take this opportunity to thwart Jiang Zhongxin's ambitions and make things difficult for Jiang Zhongyuan.

“Your cousin Jiang Zhongyuan is located in Shuitangwan, a dozen miles north of Quanzhou City. You often complain that the ransom I offered Jiang Zhongyuan was too high. I’ll give you another chance.”

(End of this chapter)